# Prince Bumpo — The Story of Doctor Dolittle character guide

> Prince Bumpo in The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Bumpo

**First appearance:** 0012-xi-the-black-prince

## Snapshot

An African prince so fixated on winning a sleeping princess that he offers the Doctor a bargain only a fairy tale could grant.

## Who they are

Prince Bumpo enters the story as a young royal whose longing for a princess he cannot have drives him to desperate, storybook measures. His wish to change his own skin to win her love is both comic and quietly sad, revealing a boyish vanity tangled up with real loneliness. He matters because his strange bargain tests the Doctor's ingenuity — and shows how far Dolittle will go to help a creature in need, even a prince.

## Relationships

### [Doctor Dolittle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se/characters/doctor_dolittle)

_friendship_

Doctor Dolittle helps Prince Bumpo with his wish to become white, and they become allies.

### [Polynesia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se/characters/polynesia)

_friendship_

Polynesia helps Prince Bumpo by convincing him to assist Doctor Dolittle's escape.

### [Polynesia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se/characters/polynesia)

_friendship_

Polynesia helps Prince Bumpo by convincing him to assist Doctor Dolittle's escape.

## In the story

### [VI: Polynesia and the King](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se/chapters/vi-polynesia-and-the-king)

Mentioned as being away fishing for salmon; heard snoring in his bedroom.

### [XI: The Black Prince](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se/chapters/xi-the-black-prince)

The King's son, seen reading fairy tales and wishing to be a white prince; Polynesia tricks him.

### [Medicine and Magic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se/chapters/xii-medicine-and-magic)

Visits the Doctor secretly, asking to be turned white to win the Sleeping Beauty; provides a ship in exchange for the treatment.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se/characters/prince_bumpo
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_doctor_dolittle_se/characters